Enough iPhone already! No more iPhone blogs!

Its iPhone Friday and all one hears, sees and reads about, it seems, is the iPhone, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone and more iPhone! Enough iPhone already!

Since over 300,000 blogs are reporting on the iPhone; all of the major and minor newspapers are reporting on the iPhone; all of the major magazines have iPhone stories and since the major TV and radio programs all have their iPhone related dribble, I will refrain from writing anything about or related to the iPhone.

Why? Simple: For one thing, I've had it up to here with all of this iPhone hype and fooliness and I hereby refuse to write another word about the iPhone or to even mention the iPhone's name again. Well, at least, for this iPhone Friday. Maybe when all of the iPhone hype subsides a bit, I will yet again write about the iPhone, but not today - no iPhone related stuff here today, baby!

So, to all of my faithful readers, all two of you, were ever you may be, please forgive me if you wish to read about the iPhone on my little blog, this iPhone Friday. Today, iPhone Friday, I hereby declare to be iPhone Free on this blog.

So, there you have it, my promise not to write or mention the iPhone again, so sorry if your looking for me to mention or write about the iPhone today, because I'm not having another thing to do with the iPhone today.

If you want to read about the iPhone, you will have to look elsewhere for iPhone stories, because I WILL NOT mention the iPhone again. I also refuse to write about the iPhone, quote anybody about the iPhone, or even think about the iPhone. Enough iPhone already! Ok?

Ahhh.... I must say that I really love not having to write about the iPhone! So nice not having to mention what cnet.com is saying about the iPhone; what ZDnet is reporting about the iPhone; what macsurfer.com is saying about the iPhone; what techgage.com is saying about the iPhone, or anybody else, for that matter, is saying about the iPhone.

Apple has been getting a free ride on the iPhone for long enough. They have tons of more money than I, let them promote the iPhone, because I, for one, refuse to add any more hype about the iPhone.

So, despite the fact that I respect and look up to Paul Thurrot, I will not quote him when he states,"No The truth of the iPhone will be told in the coming weeks, not right now. We need a review that forgets the hype instead of wallowing in it."

Yes, even though I agree with him on this one, this is a iPhone Free blog, so sorry baby, no iPhone dribble to be posted here on this iPhone Friday and thats final.

If your looking to get your hands on a iPhone today, well, good for you, may the iPhone be with you, but just don't expect me to write or mention anything today on the stupid iPhone!

Maybe tomorrow an iPhone piece, but not today... no iPhone hype and that's a promise you can expect me to keep, because when I say no iPhone, I mean no iPhone!

And thats my 2 cents 4 this iPhone Friday, the 29th. of June, this year of the iPhone, 2007.

The Problem with America's Vast Power!

America is the greatest power on earth - the greatest in history, yet for some crazy reason or other, America is made to feel ashamed and embarrassed for it's great power. This is insane, America doesn't need or have to apologize to anyone for it's power, be it a single human being, a whole country or the entire world for that power!

Terrorist's are acutely aware of this lack of pride in it's power, a fact that has emboldened them to think that they can attack America both verbally and physically with near total impunity.

Would Islamic groups threaten to attack, let's say New York or Washington, if they knew that in doing so the America would immediately nuke the holy city of Mecca, turning it into nothing more than a giant radioactive hole in ground, uninhabitable for the next 100 years? I don't think so!

It's time America stops apologizing for it's great power and simply start using it without worrying about public opinion, either that on it's own shores or that of foreign shores. These are largely, by the way, foreign powers that are intent on doing any thing that they can to criticize or damage America economically, politically, militarily or in it's world image.

All of these powers must learn to respect and fear that great power, which is naturally impossible as long as they think America is to scared to use it! First of all, America itself must learn to respect and take pride in that power, rather than feeling ashamed of it. Again, America has no reason to apologize to anyone for it's great power and influence in the world.

The greatest damage being done from America's lack of pride in it's great power, however, is to it's own standing among the nations of this world! This can only strengthen America's enemies, some of whom are totally evil beyond belief. This is more than silly, insane or what not.... it's suicidal! How long can America's attitude towards it's own great power weaken that same power and perhaps for all time?

If America really wants to be respected among the nations of the world, it must first demonstrate that it's not afraid of using it's great power!

Power unused is power wasted.

And that's my 2 cents 4 this day of Friday the 29th. (Happy iPhone Day!)

Surprise Paris TV appearance!

Paris Hilton says, I'm a pretty good poker player, I go to Vegas, so I play." Well, she is in luck and should be quite happy that it has been announced that she will appear this July 11 on the televised World Poker Championship. She claims the trick of the game is that, "I think it's all in the eyes," she says, "and just being able to bluff."

After learning her skills from her sister in a previous poker tournament, she will get to participate in the gaming tournament that she loves in front of viewers of the Travel Channel.

I don’t know how good of a poker player the beauty is, but I’m sure she will do well in attraction many viewers who would normally not watch the event, making the Travel Channel a winner in the TV ratings game.

Meanwhile, all you Paris fans will be glad to note that the Paris, the girl who is famous just for being famous, will get to tell her story about her jail stint tonight on Larry King Live.

Entertainment Tonight quoted Paris as telling Mr. King, "I've definitely matured and grown a lot from this experience," and added, "I'm 26 years old, I'm an adult, and I have to just grow up, and I have to be a more responsible role model."

I, for one, won’t be watching, but if your a Paris fan you won’t want to miss this one.

And that’s it, for this Thursday, the 28th. of June.

Is the iPhone all Hype? Nope.... IT'S FOR REAL!

Is the iPhone all hype? Apparently not, at least, according to several secret reviews conducted by major news outfits such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. Their consensus seems to be that the most hyped consumer product of recent memory pretty much lives up to the tremendous coverage that it has already gotten in over 11,000 articles and over 69-million Google searches!

Steven Levey, writing for Newsweek, says that the iPhone is fun to use in the same vein as going from the command line to the original Macintosh was fun! In fact, whenever he showed the iPhone to people under 25 their reaction was pretty much the same, “I have to have this.”

Mr. Levey went on, as it was to be expected, to say that the very first iPhone wasn’t without it’s flaws, but over all he stated, “But the bottom line is that the iPhone is a significant leap. It’s a superbly engineered, cleverly designed and imaginatively implemented approach to a problem that no one has cracked to date: merging a phone handset, an Internet navigator and a media player in a package where every component shines, and the features are welcoming rather than foreboding.  The iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.”

Veteran tech writer Walt Mossberg’s opinion after using the iPhone for the past two weeks was that, "The iPhone Is a Breakthrough Handheld Computer." Mr. Mossberg also stated, “Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.”

Mr. Mossberg’s biggest complaintt with the iPhone wasn’t so much Apple’s device but the network it was running on, AT&T. In all fairness, AT&T has been bending over backward to upgrade their system to handle the features of the iPhone. In the future it is expected and hoped that it’s network will better handle the demands of this ‘much-in-demand- device, but that is yet to be seen.

Walt Mossberg’s initial skepticism overt the omission of a physical keyboard turned out to be a non-issue, as the smart software built into the iPhone easily made up for any deficiencies. For the first three days he wanted to throw it in the waste basket, but after five days of use he found typing on the iPhone’s controversial keypad was just as easy and just as fast as on his current smart phone with it's physical key pad.

According one of my favorite writers, David Pogue of the NYTimes, the iPhone’s screen is remarkably scratch resistant, a fact that he experienced after carrying the device in his pocket unprotected for two weeks.

David Pogue points out that the iPhone really flies when connected to a Wi-Fi network, but more or less, crawled when using AT&T’s own EDGE network, but he also added that this is most likely to improve in the future, something I concur with.

Regarding the few flaws of the first iPhone version Mr. Pogue adds, “But even in version 1.0, the iPhone is still the most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles.”

I, myself, will wait anxiously for the second version of the iPhone as we can naturally expect the few current flaws to become less and less and the features and functionality to become more more refined and useful over time.

David Pogue concludes his review of the first iPhone by saying, “In other words, maybe all the iPhone hype isn’t hype at all. As the ball player Dizzy Dean once said, “It ain’t bragging if you done it.” I agree.

And that’s my 2 cents for Wednesday the 27th., 2007.

Indiana Jones 4

Entertainment Tonight made me feel sooooooo... old today. According to them its been 26 years since the release of the first Indiana Jones movie, The Raiders of the Lost Ark! They also made me realize how much of a procrastinator I am, as I always wanted to see that movie but have yet to! I did, however, get to see the ending of that one.

Well, by the time I get to see Raiders of the Lost Ark , Harrison Ford and Steven Spieberg should have celebrated the completion of the latest Indiana Jones movie, which they started shooting today, some 18 years after the last in the series, Indiana Jones and the last Crusade.

New to the cast will be a big fan of Harrison, Shia LaBequf who says about Harrison, "I haven't met a more manly man than that. He's the most manly man I've ever known," Shia joked, adding, "He's THE man! The man!"

According to Spielberg it was the requests of his children that prompted him to revive the series and much to the delight of Harrison who said, “....they're so much fun to make, so no problem there."

For more info you can go to: http://www.indianajones.com/ and check things out.

Hopefully, by this time next year you will get to see the movie, and I will get to see it too, well, maybe in the next 26 years that is?

Price is Right: Things aren't looking too Rosie for Rosie!

Last December Rosie O’Donnell made it known that she would love to host the Price is Right after the much beloved Bob Barker retires from the show after some 35 years. In fact, Rosie even went all-out and took out a full-page ad in a major magazine to congratulate Bob on his remarkable career with the show. She once said that hosting the show was her dream job.

Unfortunately, things aren't looking too Rosie for Rosie, and that's despite the kind words from Mr. Barker himself that she would make a great host. For one thing, she lives in New York with her partner and children, who refuse to move. The Price Is Right is shot in LA, making for an impossible situation. After emerging from a meeting with CBS over the position of replacing Mr. Barker, it was obvious that the other top candidates, Todd Newton of the E! network, Mark Steines of “Entertainment Tonight,” George Hamilton and John O’Hurley, had nothing to fear when it comes to Rosie getting the jump on them, as she already seems out of the running.

But who will replace the irreplaceable Bob Barker? I don't know, but I do know that who ever it is, they will have some very big shoes to fill, as many consider the veteran host to be truely irreplaceable indeed.

I can't see any one who could possibly take Mr. Barker's place, but who ever it is, be it a man or a woman, I wish them the best of luck. They are going to need it. Living up to a legend is never an easy thing to do.


And those are my 2 cents for this Monday, June 25th., 2007.

Paris Hilton to Break Out of Jail tomorrow?

Wow, time sure flies fast when you in jail. Just ask Paris Hilton. According to the online edition of Entertainment Tonight, published today, Paris Hilton may be breaking out of jail as early as tomorrow?

Paris's mother, Kathy Hilton, paid several visits to her daughter during her highly publicized stint in the hammer and told the press, after her last visit Saturday, that her daughter was "sick of orange," the color of her jail jumpsuit.

ET also confirmed that Paris's first post-jail interview was schedule with Lary King for Wednesday, June 27th. It was earlier reported that NBC was to have the first interview with Miss Hilton for the reported sum of $1,000,000. It was also confirmed that the Paris phoned Barbara Walters last Thursday night, offering to give the ABC journalist the right to conduct her first post-jail interview, but she declined.

If Paris Hilton is indeed freed tomorrow, let's all hope that she will keep her promise's to act more responsibly and to contribute more in the way of helping others by promoting worthy causes that she believes in.

I hope so.

Paris Hilton: Breaking the Bank by Breaking the Law!

According to an E! Online interview, Paris's experience in jail, which she describes as "horrible and really hard," has changed her life forever. She now claims that her former bad-girl partying days are over as she enters a new chapter in her life, of which she also says she is extremely thankful for.

In her interview with E! Online, Hilton went on to say, "In a way, I'm really glad this happened, because it changed my life forever." Paris also added that the whole experience has had a positive impact on her and that she was even proud, on her part, for sticking it out in jail.

After living in a world of luxury the Hilton heir went on to further add, "I'm so much more grateful for everything that I have, even just to have a pillow at night or food or anything."

Hilton, who is accustomed to much more spacious quarters, claims she is claustrophobic and she is really looking forward to being released from her small cell.

Meanwhile, just yesterday, it was reported that NBC will pay Hilton a whopping ONE-MILLION DOLLARS for the right of Paris describing just how bad her experience behind bars really was! The sit-down interview is expected to be conducted by Meredith Vieira.

Apparently, this arrangement has angered ABC who expected the first post interview to be conducted by their own Barbara Walter's, who has grown rather close to Paris's mother, Catherine Hilton.

Regardless of whom ends up with the first post interview, its bound to bring in huge ratings. Proof of this can be seen in the some twenty or more bags of fan mail that Paris Hilton has already received during her stay in jail!

Well, lets see: ONE-MILLION DOLLARS earned for a 45 day stay in jail..... that's pretty darn good wages I'd say, especially compared to what you and I can expect, and a lot more than Paris's fellow inmates can ever expect to look forward to upon their release.

A new Paris Hilton? A better Paris, a more responsible Paris? Well, for her sake let's all hope so, but when I read how someone, like Paris, can break the bank just for breaking the law, I can't help but ask where's the justice?

And that's my 2 cents for the day, Friday the 22nd., 2007

Apple Updates

Yesterday Apple Inc. updated both Tiger OS X and Apple TV. OS X now stands at version 10.4.10. Improvements cover security, fixes for Bluetooth and USB connections and several minor enhancements for the OS. This update affects all users of OS X 10.4 and later and covers both the Power PC and Intel based Macs.

The security update addresses a vulnerability in IPv6. It is the sixth in what now appears to be a monthly ritual for Apple.

The Apple TV update covers the following security issue issue:

CVE-2007-2386--A remote attacker may be able to cause a denial of service or arbitrary code execution. A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the UPnP IGD (Internet Gateway Device Standardized Device Control Protocol) code used to create Port Mappings on home NAT gateways in the Apple TV implementation. By sending a maliciously crafted packet, a remote attacker can trigger the overflow which may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issue by performing additional validation when processing UPnP protocol packets. Credit to Michael Lynn of Juniper Networks for reporting this issue.

So, if you haven't yet installed it, go get now.

Think Safari for Windows Will Fail? Think Again!

Recently, several websites have been attacking Safari for Window's and predicting that it will utterly fail! But will it really? I say, if that's what your thinking, well, maybe you should think again?

Cooltechzone.com, for example, gave five reasons why Safari for Window's will fail, so let's have a quick look at them here and see if they are really valid. Here then is the list:

Cooltechzone: "1. Internet Explorer Ain’t Dead: It’s pretty obvious that killing Internet Explorer isn’t a child’s play. If Firefox and Opera are having such a difficult time beating Internet Explorer, what makes Apple so hopeful? We must also not forget that Internet Explorer is bundled with Windows, and that means a lot of mainstream users already have an application to work with. "

My humble response: What-in-hell do they mean Explorer isn't dead? Does that mean since its still around and has the lion share of the market that no other browser can succeed? If thats the case, how do you explain the success of Firefox? And secondly, does any success for Firefox, or Opera, etc., for that matter, mean that Apple is foredoomed to have any success at all? Of course not, the very fact that Firefox has cut so deeply into Explorer's share proves my point! Safari, Firefox, Opera, etc. really don't have to replace Explorer to be a success, so implying that another browser will have to be the number one browser on Windows, or it doesn't qualify as a success, or deserve to be on Window's is utterly ridiculous!

Cooltechzone's logic implies that since Explorer comes bundle with Window's, Window user's really don't need another browser. Apparently that translates into Window users really having no right to choice! Explorer's bundling with Window's doesn't seem to have stop Firefox I've noticed.

Another very important fact that the column ignores is what the iPhone's impact will be on all of this. The iPhone seems to be posed on making a serious impact in the cellular market place. But how, or what, you might ask, does the wireless industry have to do with Safari's success in the Window's market place? Simple... everything! Yes, just as Explorer comes bundled with Window's, Safari will come bundled with the millions, and who knows, millions and millions of iPhone's. You see, the millions of future users of this slick gadget requires both the use of iTunes and Safari, thus guaranteeing considerable market share, on the Window's platform, for Safari! Most of those millions of iPhones user's, will, of course, be Window users. Just a little side note that Cooltechzone and others seemingly have missed.

Cooltechzone: "2. Firefox, Anyone? After Internet Explorer, Apple has Firefox to go after. I hope Apple doesn’t expect to solely steal market share away from Internet Explorer. There are other entrants who would have to pay for Apple to be successful.... It takes a lot of resources and a genuinely nice product/organization to get support from a community that is willing to work and develop plug-ins on their own time for free to enhance the user experience. Can Apple secure such a loyal following?"

My response: Silly, silly, silly! What's the reasoning that cooltechzone's is using, I don't know? But really, 'it takes a lot of resources?' Well, for starters Apple is a mammoth tech giant with a market share of over 107 billion dollars, 22,000 highly trained employees, 14-billion in spare cash and an income of around 31-34 billion annually. Mozilla, isn't even on the map in comparison! What income is this free browser bringing to Mozilla that it can use to better it's product? Browser's need resources? Well, its safe to say that Apple can provide those needed resources, and that in spades.

And, before closing on this point, I might point out, Apple, as we all know, doesn't have a very loyal community base. Mac users will camp-out over night to get their anxious little hands on an iPhone or to listen to a Steve Jobs keynote, fly all over the world (literally) to attend a Mac store opening, but hell, when it comes to Safari, nah, they won't respond, thus Apple can't possibly succeed, therefore, I guess that answers that question.

Cooltechzone: "3. O for Opera: Apple needs to look at Opera to figure out why Internet Explorer and now Firefox (at least somewhat) dominate the market. There is a reason Opera isn’t a widely used browser. It’s because people, other than enthusiasts, don’t have an interest in using an alternative browser that’s already available to them..... Maybe they (Apple) want to spread the word about the Mac platform with Safari. Maybe if people like Safari, they will be more interested in Apple’s OS X, and thus the Mac platform as a whole. Hmm… sounds too farfetched.

My response: why of course, Apple wants people to become interested in OS X, and from anyway or where they can, including Safari. But, that's not the point here. The point is that Safari, for Window's, is mostly for the benefit of the iPhone and it's users. Increased browser share on Window's is nothing more than icing on the cake for Apple!

Cooltechzone: "4. Nobody Likes Safari: Need I say more? Apple’s Mac community loathes Safari like the plague. If it’s loyal community doesn’t prefer their native browser, oh, is it going to be difficult to convert new users? Let’s work on improving Safari for the Mac, shall we, Apple? Apple needs to get a clue and start taking a more realistic approach towards browsers. It just can’t be the best at everything it does.

My response: Well, well, the silly get more silly the more they blab on! Really, nobody use's Safari. Tell me, cooltechzone, if Safari, up till now, is just a Mac affair, then how do you explain the simple fact that Safari is already the third biggest browser in the market place? Remember, and thats with only Mac users. In fact, Net Applications reported recently that Safari's market share literally double in the past six-months! Kind of blows your comments out-of-the-water, now doesn't it? It will be interesting to see what they report in the following six months after both Safari, for Windows, and the iPhone are release?

Cooltechzone: "5. Who Cares? Plain and simple, who cares? Why should I get Safari over Firefox (I won’t even count Internet Explorer to make it easier on the company.) What substantial features does Safari offers compared to other browsers?"

My final respond to Cooltechzone's stupid question (yes, it really is stupid!) is, wait-a-minute! Who cares? Simple: million's and millions of users who prefer to have more than just 'two' choices in browsers. Competition is good for business, or have you not notice that fact, my friends at cooltechzone?

Safari is not the only browser for the Mac, which is the way everybody wants it, but it is, by far, the most widely used on the Mac platform, despite the erroneous statements in cooltechzone's column, and as Apple advances it from a beta to a finished product, it will be yet another great choice for Window users.

On a personal and closing note, I will say that I really like Firefox. For a long time it was my default browser, but there are better browsers for the Mac, such as OmniWeb and Shiira, and not to forget, Camino, a Firefox version tailered specifically for the Mac and better than Firefox itself. But after using all of them, I am now back using Safari beta 3 for OS X for several simple reasons: One, it's incredibly fast, and I do mean FAST! Two, I love the built-in dictionary, spelling and the private surfing feature is great... no one can tell that I was surfing cooltechzone! Just kidding, its a great site, but this recent column just doesn't add up and that's my 2 cents for the day on that for Wednesday, the 20th. of June.

Islamic Hypocrisy!

Wow, its really hard to fathom the hypocrisy out there in the world when you see groups like Hamas and their recent declaration that Christians, in the Gazza strip, can be assured of their safety and freedom only if they adhere to Moslem principle's! In other words - free if the become Moslems!

It was also reported to worldnetdaily.com that any Christian who engaged in any type of missionary activity would be "dealt with harshly!"

These threats came after a Christian school was attacked in Gaza just two days previously after Hamas seized the territory.

They also believe that all people, Christian or otherwise, must dress in a style that they approve of, no more freedom to dress as one pleases, especially, of course, if your a woman.

"Also the activities of Internet cafes, pool halls and bars must be stopped. If it goes on, we'll attack these things very harshly." added Sheik Abu Saqer, the leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement.

He also added, "We must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people."

Ever since Israel evacuated the strip in 2005, the strip has seen an increasing level of attacks against the 2,000 plus Christian population, who are vastly outnumbered by it's one million Moslem's.

According to an Hamas official, when asked if they where going to impose hard-line Islamic law on the terrioty, he stated: "The Palestinian people are Muslim people, and we do not need to impose anything on our people because they are already committed to their faith and religion. People are free to choose their way of life, their way of dress and behavior."

Hmmm, based on the statements coming from Hamas and other Islamic groups that is clearly not the case.

Am I crazy, or is it not crazy itself that Moslem's are free to come to the west and build Mosque's, advertise and promote their religion, and yet, if someone like Billy Graham, for instance, wanted to go to the Middle East and build a church building, or try to promote their brand of religion they are not allowed!

In fact, if anyone, of any other religion, besides Islam, were to try to do anything in that regard they would most likely be stopped, thrown in jail, beaten and very likely executed!

Hypocrisy is alive and well on planet earth, and even more so in certain parts of it.

And that's my 2 cents worth 4 this day of Jun 19, 2007

Big Surprise for Paris Hilton Watchers!

The National Ledger reported recently that 750 subscribers to the web site: parisexposed.com received a big and unpleasant surprise. The reason: Another web site, the Smoking Gun. com recently obtained the names and credit card numbers to the site and forthwith published the mistake, but not the actual names or credit card numbers!

Apparently, a reporter, after receiving a tip, was able, by changing a few characters in the web address for the site's sign-up page, was able to easily access the subscriber list. The lengthy list included the subscriber's name, e-mail address, password, phone number, mailing address, and their credit card numbers.

Six hours later, after TSG informed the site's owners, the security breach was repaired. Investigators believe the breach went unnoticed for weeks. However, it's not known if anybody else discovered the breach, but the list included the name of a very famous TV personality's son, as well as people from across the US and 27 other countries.

The website, in defiance, was back up after Hilton was jailed for driving offenses. The site was earlier shut down by a court ruling in February.

I'm not sure, but it seems to me that anybody that stupid enough to pay to see Paris Hilton exposed from that web site, probably deserved to be exposed themselves.

And that's my 2 cents worth.

Boot Camp Loses Quick Start?

Some people have recently noticed that Apple has removed the mention of it's new 'Quick Start' feature from the Boot Camp page for it's upcoming Leopard OS.

Originally, the previous page stated, "Leopard brings a quicker way to switch between Mac OS X and Windows: Just choose the new Apple menu item "Restart in Windows." Your Mac goes into "safe sleep" so that when you return, you'll be right where you were. It's much faster than restarting the computer each time. Likewise, a "Restart in Mac OS X" menu item in the Boot Camp System Tray in Windows makes for a faster return to Mac OS X. With Windows hibernation enabled, you can pick up where you left off."

The question, of course, is why they would do this? Are they having technical difficulties'? Or maybe, as some have speculated, that the visualization companies VMWare and Parallel have successfully pressured Apple to drop the feature inorder to make their own offerings more attractive. In fact, at the recent WWDC conference Steve Jobs seemed to go out of his way to praise both companies and the work they have been doing on the Mac. Parallel has especially received a lot of praise for their Fusion project. The Convergence mode that hides the Window's desktop and allows individual programs to run directly on the OS X desktop is particularly useful and, if I may say so, is extremely cool looking.

Apple refuses to comment, as usual, to say actually why they removed the above statement from their Boot Camp page, but hopefully, when Leopard is finally released this coming October, it will be reintroduced, as it is one of the better features of Boot Camp.

And that's my two cents on Boot Camp's Quick Start feature for June the 18th., 2007.

One MILLION and Counting!

Despite an avalanche of criticism over Apple's introduction of it's Safari beta for Windows, Apple has racked up one amazing statistic: Over one-million people downloaded the browser in a mere 48-hour period and, to boot, they also patched all of the previous security glitches that its critics took great delight in pointing out!

Erick Schonfeld from the fanancial blog, the.next.net, described it as a stampede, which is not too far from the truth, as the iPhone and other Apple success stories seems to have really peeked people's interest in just about anything related to Apple these days.

Of course, this is not too surprising when you consider the tremendous amount of free publicity that the main street press has lavished on it's launch, and, days later is still doing. From the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Cnet and down on to the little guys, bloggers like me, the press has gone all out reporting every little nuisance, good and bad, about the browser.

It will take more time and a lot more work on Apple's part, of course, before people start replacing Explorer 7 or the beloved Firefox on Windows as their default, but, on the other hand, people who dismiss Safari on Windows and are predicting it as a foolish move on Cupertino's part better be careful; Apple has made fools out of its critics before and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they do again regarding Safari. Time will tell, of course.

And that's my two cents on Safari for Windows for the 15th. of June, 2007.

Apple Over Takes Microsoft! Is It Possible?

Robin Bloor, writing for IT-DIRECTOR.COM, asks the question as to how long it will take for Apple to surpass Microsoft in size? Thats a question that only a fool, a few years ago, would have ever dared to ask, but now with the success of the ubiquitous iPod, the Intel-based Macs, OS X and now the much hyped iPhone on it's way, this is a question that now makes a lot of sense and not as silly as it might seem.

Is it really possible? And how long would it take for Apple to topple Microsoft? Well, only God Himself knows for sure, but the facts are pointing to it not only possibly happening, but possibly a lot sooner than most would have imagined.

For starters, all one has to do is look at the growth rates of the major high tech companies. In the past few years, in revenues, Microsoft grew from approximately 33-billion to some 44-billion. Impressive, for sure, but when you consider that Apple's revenues went from about 6-billion to 21-billion in the same period, and it is projected to hit 41-billion dollars this year, its not hard to see were Robin Bloor is coming from.

What is also interesting to note is that sales of the Mac are now growing at 36% yearly; Window based PC's are growing at approximately a mere 10-11 %. Not only that, but slightly more than half of all new Mac purchases are now made to PC switchers which portrays a very interesting story indeed.

According to Mr. Bloor the respected market caps of the main PC companies compared to that of Apple is also a very good tell-tale sign that Apple can indeed supersede Microsoft in size. For example: Apple's marketcap is now almost twice that of Dell's - 104-billion vs 61-billion; slightly a little less than powerhouse HP - 121-billion to Apple's and Cisco's 162-billion. Even mighty IBM is within striking distance at 153-billion! Currently Microst, at the top, stands at 288-billion. Clearly Mr. Bloor is not blowing smoke here.

The respected financial site SeekingAlpha reported the iPhone could now ignite Apple's already high stock price of $118 to a staggering $200 plus in the very near future! That alone would almost double Apple's impressive market cap... in other words, this very year Apple would become the second most valuable company after Microsoft. Its hard to believe that ten-short years ago Apple's market cap was approximately 1.9-billion and the company was facing the very real prospect of becoming nothing more than a foot note in the history of high tech! How well I remember Michael Dell telling reporters that the best thing Steve Jobs could do (after recently returning to head the company) 'was to shut the whole thing down and give the investors their money back.' Now it is Dell that is in the hot seat... which only shows that Mr. Bloor predictions are, indeed, not only possible but maybe even probable!

And just when does Mr. Bloor think that Apple will over take Microsoft? Well, in that regard let's let him answer that in his own words:

"The fact is that Vista didn't stop Apple's momentum at all and now that Leopard is about to be released, Vista already looks like yesterday's OS. The curious thing about Apple's success is that it is hardly competing directly with Microsoft at all. Microsoft doesn't build phones (it only does a phone OS) and it doesn't build PCs (just a PC OS) and it doesn't do retail either. However at some point Apple's success will reach a tipping point, and Microsoft will be in trouble in the OS market. I'm thinking about 2–3 years."

And that's my two cents regarding Mr. Bloor's assessment. Right on dude!

To iPhone or not to iPhone..

To iPhone or not to iPhone, that is the question? Well, at least, from all the media frenzy, you would think that it was anyway. It seems every time you log onto a news site, tech or mainstream, you can't escape seeing some type of story about the iPhone. I only wish I had a nickel for each iPhone related article or mere mention of the devise. For one, I probably be a very rich man now.

Lately, one of the biggest aspect of many of these never ending iPhone tid-bits is about the touch-screen keyboard and just what it means to the success or failure of the iPhone. "It's great... the iPhone is king; it's idiotic... the iPhone is going to fail miserably!" I've heard them all.

I have read reports of those who have actually used the devise as saying its either the most freaking awesome keyboard of all time, to it's just average. The truth is more likely somewhere in the middle. As for me, I honestly can't say, one way or the other, since I have yet to touch the touch-screen devise.

Well the iPhone cometh the 29th. of this month, so we won't have to wait much longer to find out.

One thing interesting, in the meantime, is that several web sites: macenstein and applegazette are now reporting that the very first third party iPhone applications have already come out some two weeks before the devise itself. One is a poker game and the other a web to-do grocery list called One-Trip. You can find more info at their respective sites: http://macenstein.com/default/archives/578 and http://applegazette.com/iphone/one-trip-1st-iphone-3rd-party-app-onlineand-its-pretty-darn-cool/

Check them out if your thinking of buying one of Apple's sexy new iPhones any time soon. I expect these are just the beginning of what will be an avalanche of third party applications for this much hyped about product.

And that's my two-cents worth for the day on the iPhone.

Happily Disappointed

As a long time Mac user I waited anxiously for Apple's WWDC keynote speech this June 11th. In the end, I was happily disappointed!

I was disappointed for the simple reason that a lot of the speculation before hand had created such a high sense of expectation that I really shouldn't be too surprised at the let down. I really was hoping that the next version of OS X, Leopard, would have been a little more flashy as many rumors gave the impression it would have been.

Of course, there was more than mere speculation when the CEO of Sun recently said that Apple would be announcing the adoption of it's ZDF file format at the WWDC. This 128-bit file system offers a lot of impressive features such as the ability to handle up to 200-million times more storage than currently available! Sweet indeed. Of course, the WWDC goes to the 15th. and its very possible that it will yet be annoucned. I, for one, certainly hope so.

Also there was the speculation that Google applications would be added as part of Apple's .Mac offering. Such a feature would have been a big plus as the service is hardly what you would call that thrilling to begin with.

Of course, I could go on about a million other things that were supposed to be coming in the next version of Leopard, but I would rather concentrate on the few positive things to emerge from the WWDC such as the new desktop. The new desktop is nice, but not as nice as I thought it could be. It adds a new feature call stacks that helps eliminate desktop clutter and to that end, also a new download folder for the dock.

What I really, really wanted in the OS X was a new finder and were finally getting it! The old finger is so slow that its almost an embarrassment. The new finder adopts an 'iTunes' like structure complete with Cover Flow. Simply judging from the demo, the most important thing seems to be the wish that we are finally getting a faster finder. Amen to that!

Another thing that emerged from the WWDC was that OS X is becoming much more of a gaming platform now that EA and iD are bringing their complete gaming library over to the Mac starting next month. I'm not much of a gamer myself but its nice to see that we now have the option of more games on the Mac, including the really big ones too.

Apart from the few new things that Steve Jobs introduced, he basically went on to repeat features already known such as Leopard being the first full blown 64-bit OS. Steve also re-demoed the cool effects to be had in iChat and Mail, Apple's mail client.

The real surprise, but also speculated in the past, was that Apple has made available a beta copy of Safari for Windows. Available now, its already being reported as having some security risks that Apple, I'm sure, will quickly address. The main reason for this move is, of course, the iPhone, as it needs Safari for a lot of its functions. The speed of the beta is quite impressive to boot... two times faster than Explorer 7 and 1.6 times faster than FireFox! Safari version 3.0 beta is available for OS X, Windows XP and Vista.

All-in-all, it wasn't the best WWDC, but then again, it wasn't the worse. I am already looking forward to running Leopard as soon as it is available on my new MacBook Pro come this October and that's my two cents worth on the recent WWDC.